Water-borne flare and the like



Sept. 21, 1948. c. D. SCHERMULY ETAL 2,449,913

WATER-BORNE FLARE AND THE LIKE Filed June 22, 1945 patented Sept. 21,1948

WATER-BORNE FLARE AND THE LIKE Conrad David Schermuly, Alfred Jame s Scher muly, and Charles Schermuly, Parkgata liewdigate, England Application June 22, 1945, Serial No. 600,952

In Great Britain April 5, 1944 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to water-borne flares and the like and has for its principal object to provide improved means for igniting the same.

In our application Serial No. 546,162, flled July 22, 1944, we have described a rocket-discharging device comprising an inner casing, a buoyancy chamber on said inner casing, an outer casing surrounding said inner casing and buoyancy chamber, a rocket in said inner casing, means for ejecting said inner casing from said outer casing, and means for ejecting said rocket from said inner casing and for igniting said rocket. The whole device is dropped from aircraft into water. The casing is separated and the rocket ignited by an arrangement of fuzes and bursters. It has been found that occasionally the rocket fails to ignite, due to the fact that during separation of the casing a partial vacuum is created which prevents ignition of the fuze for igniting the rocket. The separation of the casing takes place prior to or simultaneously with the ignition of said fuze.

According to the present invention a waterborne illuminating device comprises illuminating means such as a rocket and/or flare contained in an inner casing, a buoyancy chamber on said inner casing, an outer casing which either surrounds the inner casing in two separable parts or is separably secured to said buoyancy chamber, a delay fuze for igniting said illuminating means, and means for separating said outer casing after the ignition of said delay fuze.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing. The figure is a view partly in section of the lower end of a device of the type described in our co-pending application Ser. No. 546,162.

A rocket or flare l is contained within an inner casing 2 which is provided with buoyancy chamber 3. Surrounding the lower end of the buoyancy chamber 3 is an outer casing 4, the joint 5 between the outer casing and the buoyancy cham her 3 being weak so that the outer casing 4 may readily be separated from the buoyancy chamber 3. The outer casing is provided at its lower end with a weighted cap 6 which ensures that the whole device maintains the correct position when dropped into water. A metal ring 1 is secured to the lower end of the inner casing 2 and a plate 8 is screwed into said ring 1. Screwed into the plate 8 is a bobbin 9. A delay fuze ii) is wound round the bobbin 9 with one end of the fuze l0 embedded in a charge ll of powder carried in a recess in the top face of the bobbin 9 and the other end of the fuze l0 embedded in a charge l2 of powder contained in a recess in the plate 8. Below the plate 8 is another plate l3 and between these two plates are located cardboard spacers 22 and a disc M of primed cambric from which a short length of quickmatch 15 leads to the charge l2. The plate l3 has a central hole IS, an eccentrically placed hole I! and an annular recess I8 in its lower face. The recess I8 is filled with a separating charge l9 and a length of quickmatch 20, which passes through the hole ll, connects the disc I4 and the charge I9. Secured in the cap 6 and projecting through the hole It is a contact fuze 2| adapted to be operated when the device strikes the water.

When the device is dropped from an aircraft and strikes the water, the contact fuze 2| is actuated and the flash therefrom ignites the disc it which, through the quickmatch l5, ignites the charge 12 which in turn ignites the delay fuze Iii. The disc 14 also ignites the quickmatch 20 which fires the separating charge l9 by means of which the outer casing 4 becomes separated at the weak joint 5 from the buoyanc chamber 3 on the inner casing 2, the latter then rising to the surface of the water. After the delay fuze ID has burned through, it ignites the charge H the flash from which ignites the rocket or flare I. It will be seen that the delay fuze 1B is ignited before the firing of the separating charge I9 by which the outer casing 4 is separated.

The discharge of the rocket or flare 1 from the inner casing 2 may be effected in any convenient manner, as for example in the manner described in the said application Serial No. 546,162.

When it is desired that the flare I should not leave the casing 2, but should burn while floating 0n the water, the charge H may be dispensed with and the delay fuze [0 led to the top of the flare i.

We claim:

A water-borne illuminating device comprising an inner casing, illuminating means contained in said inner casing, two plates located in the lower end of said inner casing below said illuminatin means, a recess in the upper of said plates, a charge of powder in said recess, a delay fuze one end of which is embedded in said charge, a, primed cambric disc between said two plates, an annular recess in the lower face of the lower of said plates, a separating charge of powder in said annular recess, a piece of quickmatch connecting said cambric disc with said charge, a second piece of quickmatch connecting said cambric disc with said separating charge, a buoyancy chamber secured to said inner casing, an outer casing enclosing the lower end of said inner casing and secured to REFERENCES CITED said buoyancy chamber by a weak joint, 2, contact fuze in the lower end of said outer casing g g g g ggf g are of record in the adapted upon actuation to ignite said cambric disc which on the one hand ignites said first piece of 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS quickmatch, said charge of powder and said delay Number Name Date fuze and .on the other hand ignites said second 1,237,012 Barlow Aug. 1917 piece of quickmatch and said separating charge, 1,394,335 Nichols Oct. 1921 whereby said outer casing is separated from said 1,640,392 Gammeter 1927 buoyancy chamber after said delay fuze has been 10 ignited FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date ALFRED JAMES. H' L 211,432 Italy Feb. 8,1930 CHARLES SCHERMULY- 407,993 Great Britain Mar. 26, 1934 

